Design and trial implementation of a continental-scale, kilometre-resolution hourly precipitation analysis for Australia using satellite, radar and gauges

Zhang, Yuhang; Wang, Quan J.; Frost, Andrew J.; Pudashine, Jayaram; Trewin, Blair; Velasco-Forero, Carlos; Su, Chun-Hsu; Villani, Vincent

doi:10.5194/hess-30-6701-2026

Articles | Volume 30, issue 21

https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-6701-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-6701-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 30, issue 21

Research article

|

30 Oct 2026

Research article |

| 30 Oct 2026

Design and trial implementation of a continental-scale, kilometre-resolution hourly precipitation analysis for Australia using satellite, radar and gauges

Yuhang Zhang, Quan J. Wang, Andrew J. Frost, Jayaram Pudashine, Blair Trewin, Carlos Velasco-Forero, Chun-Hsu Su, and Vincent Villani

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-6701-2026-supplement

Data sets

AURA – Operational Radar Network Archive Bureau of Meteorology https://doi.org/10.25914/5cb686a8d9450

Himawari 8/9 – Convective Rain Rate – Physically Based (CRRPH) (V2.1) Bureau of Meteorology https://doi.org/10.25914/qc2q- mx21

Short summary

This study develops and tests a new system that combines satellite, radar, and rain gauge measurements to produce hourly rainfall maps at 2 km resolution across Australia. The results show improved rainfall estimates and better representation of local rainfall patterns compared with existing products. The system can support real-time rainfall monitoring and reconstruction of historical rainfall, and provides a practical approach that could also be applied in other regions.